Moonhanger makes Mexican hip at El Camino

Moonhanger Group — the same outfit that brought you the Rookery, Dovetail and the revamped H&H — has done it again. Not only do they bring top name musical acts to the Cox Capitol Theatre, but now they’ve provided hungry concert goers with an authentic, hip and comfortable place to dine next door with El Camino Taqueria & Cantina.

Re-live your college days when you walk in, as you glimpse a car hood painted with a colorful Mexican-style skull to the left and a hoop chandelier above you. The music is more Cake and Foo Fighters than current pop or traditional Mexican, and the well-stocked bar is definitely a focal point.

Food-wise, the bacon fat refried beans were far and away my favorite item, which they graciously topped with cheese and served with warm tortilla chips. The beans were so good, I didn’t leave room to try the guacamole or the pinto bean-pumpkin seed hummus.

The tacos are the main attraction here, served on small corn tortillas. The idea is that you’ll choose two or three of the tacos for your meal, so they’re only $3-$3.50 each.

The Rally Sport consists of chicken rubbed with Turkish biber chilies, fire toasted poblanos, sheep’s milk cheese and a lime cream. The popular El Pastor combines marinated pork tenderloin, peach and poblano relish, sheep’s milk cheese and salsa verde. Another pork choice is the Laredo, with crisped pork butt, cheese, slaw and smoked tomato pasilla negro crema.

One of our favorites was the Pescador, made with fried catfish, radish jalapeño slaw, cheese and that smoked tomato and chili pepper crema. If you’re more in the mood for beef, try the Ranchero, with marinated grilled skirt steak, sheep’s milk cheese and cilantro chimmi. If you want the tacos from your childhood, order the Gringo, with ground beef, lettuce, shredded cheese and tomatoes.

We also enjoyed the Mexican sandwich tortas, like the Alberto Reynolds — named for everybody’s favorite Bandit — and the fried green tomato Caballero, along with a dozen smoked wings. We topped it all off with a plate of churros with a light orange-vanilla sauce.

My advice: get down here fast before it’s hard to get a table.

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This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Moonhanger makes Mexican hip at El Camino."